For the second time, Olympian Alysia Montaño brought her pregnant belly with her to the U.S.A. Track & Field Outdoor Championships. Only this time, she’s baring it all.
On Thursday, she participated in the USATF Outdoor Championships while being five months pregnant with a due date of November. In 2014, Montaño was eight months pregnant and wore a pink shirt overtop of her 8-month-old pregnant stomach.
In addition to exposing her bare belly this year, she also beat her previous record of 2:21.40 by 10 seconds.
In the Team USA newsletter, Montaño shared how she “represent[s] so many different people: women, black women, pregnant women. It’s my responsibility to make sure I’m a voice and an advocate for them.”
During the race, Montaño wore her signature flower in her hair, which she said serves as a representation of “strength with femininity.”
“I think that a lot of people say things like you run like a girl. That doesn’t mean you have to run soft or you have to run dainty. It means that you’re strong,” she said.
On her chest, the soon-to-be mother of a second child sported a “Wonder Woman” shirt while running 800 meters in 110-degree heat.
“I wanted Wonder Woman to represent me… when I found out (star Gal Gadot) filmed half the movie five months pregnant, I said, ‘I for sure am signing up for USA nationals,” she continued.
Montaño, who is a Queens native, is a seven-time USA Champ, two-time Bronze Medalist and two-time American Record holder. According to Sports Illustrated, she’ll soon receive two world championship medals and bronze medals for both races.
The 31-year-old professional athlete took to social media about her latest accomplishment, saying, “I have some pretty awesome maternity photos from both pregnancies.”
In addition to beating her personal record, Montaño also managed to inspire people nationwide as one Instagram user wrote, “our daughters are so fortunate to have such a woman to look towards. Thank you for all you put forth into the universe.”
As she writes on her personal website, “my life philosophy has been to be bold and courageous,” there’s no doubt that she continues to prove that to be true.
